Normally lurk around here but decided to register today and somehow on a football forum this is my first post...odd.

Anyway, you guys pleading for jobs in Australia realize that those high salaries are offset by the ridiculous cost of living that you were talking about originally, correct? No point in moving for a higher salary if all those gains are wiped away due to higher COL.

To answer the original question I wrapped up my MBA last year and am currently a strategy consultant doing the typical consultant thing: get up on Mondays, fly to client site, work 15 hour days, fly home Thursday night and work 'only' 8 on Fridays and 'only' 4-5 on Saturday/Sunday from home. As much as the grind is terrible the experience is great, working with tons of different clients, solving complex problems, tons of responsibility and I'd be lying if I didn't say the pay was nice as well.

Normally lurk around here but decided to register today and somehow on a football forum this is my first post...odd.

Anyway, you guys pleading for jobs in Australia realize that those high salaries are offset by the ridiculous cost of living that you were talking about originally, correct? No point in moving for a higher salary if all those gains are wiped away due to higher COL.

To answer the original question I wrapped up my MBA last year and am currently a strategy consultant doing the typical consultant thing: get up on Mondays, fly to client site, work 15 hour days, fly home Thursday night and work 'only' 8 on Fridays and 'only' 4-5 on Saturday/Sunday from home. As much as the grind is terrible the experience is great, working with tons of different clients, solving complex problems, tons of responsibility and I'd be lying if I didn't say the pay was nice as well.

Welcome!

I totally realize that the higher pay is offset by higher COL. But if you can manage to save the same percentage of income that you normally do (which isn't unreasonable to assume), you will save far more money in the long run.

It's what people do in NYC. Make a ton of money, spend a ton of money, but still have more left over when they move away than if they would have had a jarb in a list expensive city.

I totally realize that the higher pay is offset by higher COL. But if you can manage to save the same percentage of income that you normally do (which isn't unreasonable to assume), you will save far more money in the long run.

It's what people do in NYC. Make a ton of money, spend a ton of money, but still have more left over when they move away than if they would have had a jarb in a list expensive city.

But that "more" money in aggregate is "worth" less in NYC than it would be elsewhere, so it really balances out. You can't look at this stuff in pure numbers but rather as percentages otherwise you're not comparing apples to apples.

Edit: I see you're assuming they're moving away from NYC. Generally, trying to stay ahead of inflationary curves or currency translations by up and moving as a way of saving is not advisable for obvious reasons.

But that "more" money in aggregate is "worth" less in NYC than it would be elsewhere, so it really balances out. You can't look at this stuff in pure numbers but rather as percentages otherwise you're not comparing apples to apples.

Edit: I see you're assuming they're moving away from NYC. Generally, trying to stay ahead of inflationary curves or currency translations by up and moving as a way of saving is not advisable for obvious reasons.

It's not something that I'm actively advocating, but in the long run, if I know that I'm going to retire to a place that isn't as inflated (small city in a cheap area), the odds are that over the next 30-40 years, the big expensive city will earn me more quantitatively over the years and that I can assume that that quantity will be worth more in a less inflationary area. And that inflation typically doesn't vacillate too much relatively among living areas in the US (that is without foresight).

I'm just saying, saving 10% of a $300k salary is more money than 10% of a $100k salary. Three times in fact ;)

And if you know that you are going to leave the expensive area, you will have more flexibility in spending down the road. If you stay, then you will have the same as you would if you had the lower income and stayed in the lower cost area.

It's not something that I'm actively advocating, but in the long run, if I know that I'm going to retire to a place that isn't as inflated (small city in a cheap area), the odds are that over the next 30-40 years, the big expensive city will earn me more quantitatively over the years and that I can assume that that quantity will be worth more in a less inflationary area. And that inflation typically doesn't vacillate too much relatively among living areas in the US (that is without foresight).

I'm just saying, saving 10% of a $300k salary is more money than 10% of a $100k salary. Three times in fact ;)

And if you know that you are going to leave the expensive area, you will have more flexibility in spending down the road. If you stay, then you will have the same as you would if you had the lower income and stayed in the lower cost area.

Totally get what you're saying and I think we both agree that while in theory this makes sense, in practice it's less likely to play out so cleanly. Also, places like NYC's COL significantly eat into the pay bump one can expect from living in that area (COL adjustments for pay generally aren't generous enough). Adjusted Real Incomes, therefore, in those cities aren't quite as friendly and thus savings rates are significantly lower than you find in many other cities with lower COL.

Totally get what you're saying and I think we both agree that while in theory this makes sense, in practice it's less likely to play out so cleanly. Also, places like NYC's COL significantly eat into the pay bump one can expect from living in that area (COL adjustments for pay generally aren't generous enough). Adjusted Real Incomes, therefore, in those cities aren't quite as friendly and thus savings rates are significantly lower than you find in many other cities with lower COL.

What is being ignored in the discussion of salaries is the hidden wage of a federal worker. Add 40%-50% to their salary to give the real world, non-guaranteed pension salary.

I'm trying hard to resist a political discussion, but I will say that I can't stand the giant bureaucratic cancer that is machine of DC (the city and the history stand apart). That cancer is killing our country. That's it. No mas on it from me.